Butler County Engineer
Greg Wilkens announces that his office has received approval
for $900,000 in financial assistance from the Ohio Public Works
Commission (OPWC) for eight bridge replacements and two intersection
improvements in Butler County. The total cost of the ten projects
is approximately $1.8 million.
The eight-bridge package
has an estimated cost of $805,000 and includes four bridges currently
posted with load limits. The eight bridges are located on California
Road, Canal Road, Howe Road, Huston Road, Oxford Middletown Road,
Schradin Road, Stillwell Road, and Stout Road. The OPWC grant
will pay for $400,000 while the County Engineer’s Office
will contribute a local match amount of $405,000 toward construction
of the new bridges, which is expected to start this fall and
continue through next summer. Design and engineering, right-of-way
drawings, and utility relocation plans are currently being developed
by the BCEO.
Turn lanes and a traffic
signal will be installed at the intersection of Liberty Fairfield
Road and Millikin Road. A new culvert will be installed at Millikin
Road and Morris Road and the intersection will be widened to
better accommodate turning movements by school buses and other
large vehicles that travel the roads. $500,000 of the OPWC grant
will be applied to the $1 million price tag for the intersections.
Fairfield and Liberty Townships will contribute $50,000 each
to the funding package in addition to the Engineer’s local
match of $400,000 for the intersections. Construction on the
intersection upgrades is scheduled for 2003.
"This grant is
good news for Butler County motorists," said Wilkens. "While
our office is funded by a portion of the gasoline taxes and automobile
license taxes collected by the state, these taxes have not increased
for many years. Our revenues have remained relatively flat. Unfortunately,
our costs for labor, materials, land and services continue to
grow annually. Therefore, we must constantly search for additional
funds to help us finance the projects needed to make our roads
and bridges safer. We compete for Federal, State and Local grants
and loans to stretch our $3.5 million construction budget as
far as possible. We also require developers to upgrade road segments
impacted by their development sites."
Butler County currently
has 15 bridges that are load-rated or under construction. The
County’s annual bridge inspection, required by the Federal
Highway Administration, is now in progress. It is inevitable
that several additional bridges will have to be posted with weight
restrictions. Many county structures are well past their planned
lifespan. A few bridges in the county are nearly 100 years old.
Bridges are scheduled for replacement based on several criteria,
including their physical condition, functional deficiencies,
traffic counts, and availability of funds.
OPWC Programs
Aid Local Infrastructure
The State Capital Improvements
Program (SCIP), created in 1987, enables the state to issue $120
million in bonds each year to provide grants, loans, and financing
for local debt support and credit enhancement to local communities
for the improvement of their basic infrastructure systems. Eligible
projects include improvements to roads, bridges, culverts, water
supply systems, wastewater systems, storm water collection systems,
and solid waste disposal facilities.
The Local Transportation
Improvements Program (LTIP) was created by the Ohio legislature
in 1989 and provides an additional $60 million in gasoline receipts
each year for roads, bridges and culverts.
Butler County has used
OPWC funding for many projects in the past and is currently using
these funds for the Cincinnati Dayton Road improvement project
between Interstate 75 and Mauds Hughes Road and on the Port Union
Road upgrade west of Ohio 747, both scheduled for completion
later this year.
# # #
For more information contact:
- Chris
Petrocy, Public Information
Supervisor
- Greg
Wilkens, P.E., P.S.,
Butler County Engineer
- Phone 513.867.5744 • Fax
513.867.5849
